India’s tarnished Games a lesson for London 2012

Nearly half of Britons say media reports about poor safety at the 2010 Commonwealth Games have damaged India’s reputation.

Golden moment: England’s athletes celebrate but the Commonwealth Games were bad for India’s image (Picture: AP)

The negative effect on the country, expressed by 47 per cent of people in a Harris poll conducted for Metro, is likely to offer a lesson for London 2012.

Stories of snakes found in athletes’ bedrooms, unsafe stadia, pictures of filthy bathrooms and sports stars falling ill contributed to people’s tarnished image of India. They overshadowed the positive effect of hosting the Games, according to the poll.

Some 25 per cent of respondents thought India was a poor host, compared with 41 per cent who said they it was fair, 26 per cent good and one per cent excellent.

As concern about safety at major sporting events was raised by the poll, security minister Baroness Neville-Jones said yesterday that the appropriate measures for the Olympic Games in London were already in place.

‘We are learning how to build buildings in a more secure way,’ she told a safety conference. ‘If you bolt security on later that is one of the things that gets on people’s nerves.’

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said there was no reason to think London would suffer the fate of India. ‘Preparations are on time and within budget,’ he added.

Caterina Gerlotto, of Harris Interactive, said: ‘The results should serve as a solemn warning to our own Olympic committee. Mistakes televised the world over will almost certainly impair our reputation internationally.’

Harris polled 1,016 people across Britain online between October 12 and October 18.